Mr. Wonderful is a musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 with a book by Joseph Stein

Joseph Stein

Joseph Stein was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as Fiddler on the Roof and Zorba.-Biography:...

 and Will Glickman

Will Glickman

Will Glickman Born: March 07, 1910/March 1983 was an American playwright who frequently collaborated with Joseph Stein.Glickman made his Broadway debut in 1948 with sketches he and Stein wrote for the revue Lend an Ear. The two went on to collaborate on Mrs. Gibbons' Boys, Alive and Kicking, Mr...

, and music and lyrics by Jerry Bock

Jerry Bock

Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Bock was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof with...

, Larry Holofcener, and George David Weiss

George David Weiss

George David Weiss was an American songwriter and former President of the Songwriters Guild of America.-Career:...

.

Written specifically to showcase the talents of Sammy Davis, Jr.

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....

, the thin plot, focusing on entertainer Charlie Welch's show business struggles, primarily served as a springboard for an extended version of Davis' Las Vegas

Las Vegas Strip

The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...

 nightclub

Nightclub

A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...

 act.

The Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production, staged by Jack Donohue, opened on March 22, 1956 at The Broadway Theatre

The Broadway Theatre

The Broadway Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1681 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan....

, where it ran for 383 performances. In addition to Davis, the cast included his father Sammy Sr.

Sammy Davis, Sr.

Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Sr. was an American dancer and the father of Sammy Davis, Jr..-Birth and Personal Life:...

 and uncle Will

Will Mastin

-Career on the Dance Floor:Mastin was the leader of the Will Mastin Trio which included Sammy Davis, Sr. and his son Sammy Davis, Jr.. Will Mastin was also the "uncle" of Sammy Davis, Jr.. Sammy's father Sammy Davis, Sr. and Will were good friends....

 (who together with Davis had performed as the Will Mastin Trio

Will Mastin Trio

The Will Mastin Trio was a trio of dancers and singers formed by Will Mastin, Sammy Davis, Sr. and Sammy Davis, Jr.. They performed from the 1920s through the 1960s....

), Jack Carter

Jack Carter (comedian)

Jack Chakrin , known by his professional name of Jack Carter, is a Jewish-American comedian, actor and host. Brooklyn Born Carter had long-running comedy act similar to fellow rapid pace contemporaries Milton Berle and Morey Amsterdam...

, Chita Rivera

Chita Rivera

Chita Rivera is an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for her roles in musical theater. She is the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award...

, Malcolm Lee Beggs

Malcolm Lee Beggs

Malcolm Lee Beggs was an American actor of the stage and screen. The son of actor/director Lee Beggs and stage actress Doris Singleton, he began performing professionally on the stage at the age of 5. He made appearances in two silent films: The Silent Plea and In Bridal Attire...

, and Marilyn Cooper

Marilyn Cooper

Marilyn Cooper was an American actress, known primarily for her work on the Broadway stage.-Biography:Born in New York City, Cooper made her Broadway debut in 1956 in the chorus of Mr. Wonderful...

.

Song list

Act I

• 1617 Broadway - Rita Romano, Hal and Ensemble
• Without You, I'm Nothing - Fred Campbell and Lil Campbell
• Jaques D'Iraq - Charlie Welch, Uncle, Dad and Ensemble
• Ethel, Baby - Ethel Pearson and Charlie Welch
• Mr. Wonderful - Ethel Pearson
• Charlie Welch - Fred Campbell
• Big Time (Added after opening) - Charlie Welch
• Charlie Welch (Reprise) - Fred Campbell and Ensemble
• Talk to Him - Lil Campbell and Ethel Pearson
• Too Close for Comfort - Charlie Welch
• Without You, I'm Nothing (Reprise) - Fred Campbell and Charlie Welch
• Sing, You Sinners (From Honey film)
  • Lyrics By W. Franke Harling
    W. Franke Harling
    W. Franke Harling was a composer of film scores, operas, and popular music.Born William Franke Harling in London, he was educated at the Grace Choir Church School in New York City...
    
     and Music By Sam Coslow
    Sam Coslow
    Sam Coslow was an American songwriter, singer, film producer, publisher, and market analyst. Coslow was born in New York City. He began writing songs as a teenager...
    
    
• Daddy, Uncle, and Me
  • Music and Lyrics By Sid Kuller
    Sid Kuller
    Sid Kuller was an American comedy writer, producer and lyricist/composer, who concentrated on special musical material, gags and sketches for leading comics...
    
     and Lyn Murray
    Lyn Murray
    Lyn Murray was a composer, conductor, and arranger of music for radio, film and television.Born as Lionel Breeze in London, he arrived on American shores to found the Lyn Murray Singers, who became known throughout the United States as the featured group on CBS Radio’s Your Hit Parade...
    
    
• Because of You
  Because of You (1940 song)
  "Because of You" is a popular song. It was written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson in 1940. It was used in the 1951 film I Was an American Spy....
  
  
  • Lyrics By Arthur Hammerstein
    Arthur Hammerstein
    Arthur Hammerstein , was the son of Oscar Hammerstein I and uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II, was an opera producer and one of the writers of the song "Because of You," a major hit for Tony Bennett in 1951. Hammerstein wrote the song in 1940. It was used in the film I Was an American Spy...
    
     and Music By Dudley Wilkinson
• That Old Black Magic (From Star Spangled Rhythm
  Star Spangled Rhythm
  Star Spangled Rhythm is a 1943 all-star cast musical film made by Paramount Pictures during World War II as a morale booster. Many of the Hollywood studios produced such films during the war, generally musicals, frequently with flimsy storylines, and with the specific intent of entertaining the...
  
   film)
  • Lyrics By Johnny Mercer
    Johnny Mercer
    John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
    
     and Music By Harold Arlen
    Harold Arlen
    Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
    
    
• The Birth of the Blues
  The Birth of the Blues
  "The Birth of the Blues" is a popular song.The music was written by Ray Henderson, the lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. The song was published in 1926, and recorded by Cab Calloway in 1943 or 1944...
  
  (From George White's Scandals of 1926
  George White's Scandals
  George White's Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modelled after the Ziegfeld Follies. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W.C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Ethel Merman, ...
  
  )
  • Lyrics By Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown
    Lew Brown
    Lew Brown was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States.Brown was born as Louis Brownstein in Odessa, Russian Empire...
    
     with Music By Ray Henderson
    Ray Henderson
    Ray Henderson , was an American songwriter.Born Raymond Brost in Buffalo, New York, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley...
    
    
• It's All Right with Me
  It's All Right with Me
  "It's All Right With Me" is a popular song written by Cole Porter, for his 1953 musical Can-Can, where it was introduced by Peter Cookson as the character Judge Aristide Forestier.The song is also used in the Cole Porter musical High Society...
  
  (From Can-Can
  Can-Can (musical)
  Can-Can is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and a book by Abe Burrows. The story concerns the showgirls of the Montmartre dance halls during the 1890s....
  
  )
  • Music and Lyrics By Cole Porter
    Cole Porter
    Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
    
    

Act II

• I'm Available - Rita's Audition
• There - Charlie Welch
• Miami - Lil Campbell and Ensemble
• I've Been Too Busy - Ethel Pearson, Fred Campbell, Lil Campbell and Charlie Welch
• Mr. Wonderful (Reprise) - Ethel Pearson
• Sing, You Sinners
• Daddy, Uncle and Me
• Because of You
• That Old Black Magic
• Birth of the Blues
• It's All Right With Me
• Dearest (You're the Nearest to My Heart)
  • Lyrics By Benny Davis
    Benny Davis
    Benny Davis was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. He composed the classic 1926 standard "Baby Face" with Harry Akst.-Life and career:...
    
     and Music By Harry Akst
    Harry Akst
    Harry Akst was an American songwriter, who started out his career as a pianist in vaudeville accompanying singers such as Nora Bayes, Frank Fay and Al Jolson.-Life and career:Akst was born in New York, United States....
    
    )
• Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)
  Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)
  "Liza " is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn. It was introduced in 1929 by Ruby Keeler in Florenz Ziegfeld's musical Show Girl. The stage performances were accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra...
  
  (From Show Girl
  Show Girl
  Show Girl is a musical that ran from Jul 2, 1929 to Oct 5, 1929 with a book by William Anthony McGuire, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn, and music by George Gershwin. Its heroine, aspiring Broadway showgirl Dixie Dugan, was a character created by J. P...
  
  )
  • Lyrics By Ira Gershwin
    Ira Gershwin
    Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
    
     and Gus Kahn
    Gus Kahn
    Gustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
    
     with Music By George Gershwin
    George Gershwin
    George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
    
    

Finale: Mr. Wonderful - Entire Company